Side comment: I loved this book!
Yesterday I was chatting with my friend Gay when we got round to the topic of her upcoming birthday next month. “Where shall we celebrate it?” I typed even as different places popped in my head. “The Line? Marina Bay Sands? Where do you want to go? It has to be somewhere special!”
“I don’t know!” she typed in reply. “Anywhere! I just want to make my 29th birthday special. Haha! For the first time, I actually want my birthday to be special.”
“Why first time?” I asked in bewilderment. Unlike her, I had always wanted all my birthdays to be special. And not just mine, but all my friends’ too. This reminded me of what Gay says was one of her special birthdays – on her 18th one, we her friends bought 18 beehive cupcakes, topped each one with a candle, and surprised her with them in the backfield of our school. Back then when we each had about a 30-peso daily allowance, the 6-peso cupcakes were a stretch, but worth it for special people for their special days.
“I dunno. In the past I didn’t make such a big deal out of my birthday. Actually I even wondered why other people wanted their birthdays to be special. But now it’s different. I’m not prepared to be 30 yet. I want to celebrate the last year I’m in my twenties,” she explained.
“I always thought that I should celebrate when I turn 30, because that was like a milestone number,” I mused. “But you know what, your reasoning makes so much more sense! It’s the 29th year that we should celebrate because it’s like the last year that you can consider yourself young.”
And so we made plans for her birthday, after which, I started to brainstorm about mine. Sure it’s four months away, but one can never be too advanced. Not for something that special. I’m thinking… theme party? Maybe a lechon, since I’ve never ever had that Philippine party staple in any of my birthdays ever? Hmmm…
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